Our Promises
by dragonkrz
Summary: A short two-shot that was born out of an English assignment. A different take on Izuki's background story, and deals with a quirkless four-year-old Izuku in a very different way than the manga/anime. Angst and a ray of hope...maybe.
1. Our First Promise

**Promises**

Our First Promise

''

"Mom! Someday, I'll be a really super strong super hero! The best anyone's ever seen," the four-year-old announced jumping up and down on his bed. His mother smiled at him. Her kind, dark brown eyes glanced at the digital clock by his bed.

"Yes, Izuku, but first you have to sleep. You won't be able to become big and strong if you don't sleep properly," she lectured handing him his pajamas. Needless to say the young child didn't pay attention.

"I'll save everyone," he waved his arms around him as he continued. "Just like All Might does! Just you wait mom, I'll be fighting evil villains and helping everyone." His mother just smiled as she helped him out of his clothes and into his pajamas.

"What about Katsuki," she asked as she tucked him into bed. His unruly black and green hair splayed out around his head, and his eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Of course, Katsuki will be there with me," his tone implied it had been obvious all along. He had never made plans that didn't somehow include his best friend; his mother should have known that by now.

"Okay, well, go to sleep now, Izuku," she said sternly.

"But, mom, I'm not done telling you about my plans," Izuku wailed. She just sighed and kissed his forehead before waving her hand in the direction of the light switch. It flipped and the lights went out.

"Good night, Izuku," she said waving the door closed behind her. Her son could be so stubborn if he wanted to.

Izuku hummed to himself as he hugged the All Might plush toy closer to himself. He could still visualize the first time he had even seen All Might on television. It was his first memory. Izuku would always remember how brave his favorite hero was when he ran straight into the burning building and subsequent debris to carry out five people at a time, saving their lives. He was the town's number one hero. The hero every hero and young children wished to be. He embodied the spirit of selfless need; placing himself in danger on another's behalf. All Might fought against evil and encouraged citizens to help others as well. Basically, All Might was the greatest, and Izuku couldn't wait until he could stand next to him as a professional hero.

Throughout the years, people developed superpowers, which they called quirks. Mostly everyone had one and each quirk usually manifested around the age of four. People thought it was the next step in human evolution, and prided themselves in being part of a family with a long history of its members having quirks. Every teenager at the crossroads dreamed of attending the prestigious Hero Academy in order to obtain their professional Hero license. Everyone without a quirk was left to do the other jobs in society. Sure, there were other heroic professions such as being part of the police force or a firefighter, but only Heroes could defeat villains whenever they appeared. Without these individuals the world would have plummeted into despair as quirks weren't given only to righteous people.

Izumi couldn't wait for his quirk to manifest itself. Maybe he would be telekinetic like his mother or be able to control water like his father. He would have preferred super strength. That way he would be even more like All Might, but he knew that usually children inherited the quirk from one of their parents or a mixture of both. His best friend, Katsuki, had already manifested his. He was so envious when it had happened.

"Katsuki! You shouldn't climb so high," Izuku yelled up at his friend. Unlike him, Katsuki was adventurous. If there was a competition, no matter the age limit or task, one could be sure that his blond friend would be there vying for the number one spot.

"Don't be such a stick in the mud," Katsuki yelled down at him from high up in the tree. "Come up here, Izuku! Look what I found." Izuku nervously looked around hoping for someone to stop him. Unfortunately, the park they usually played in was deserted at the moment.

"No worries, Izuku. If Katsuki was able to climb that high, you'll be fine," he said trying to talk himself into climbing the free. "Besides, he can't be that high-" he was interrupted by a loud crack and he froze. Katsuki screamed as he fell through the branches. Just as his head was about to hit the ground he turned his hand towards the ground. The temperature around them rose significantly as bright red flames erupted from his hand to scorch the ground below and cushion his fall. During the commotion, Izuku had fallen backwards and he stared wide eyes at Katsuki who was shaking while lying down on his back.

"OH MY GOD, IZUKU. DID YOU SEE THAT," Katsuki yelled, quickly standing up.

"THAT WAS SO COOL," Izuku yelled back having already recovered from the shock. Needless to say, he had lost his eyebrows to the combustion as he had been standing too close. Izuku giggled at the memory despite also remembering how the two had gotten thoroughly scolded by their mothers that day when they came home with charred clothes. Hopefully, I'll get my quirk soon, Izuku thought as he slipped into his dreams.

"Izuku, wake up!" He groggily opened his eyes. His mother was looming over him; a frown graced her features. "You'll be late for kindergarten if you don't hurry, young man." Instead of being alarmed the now four-year-old sleepily rubbed his eyes in an attempt to fully wake up. It had been a year since Katsuki had manifested his quirk, yet Izuku still hadn't. When he told his mother that all the kids in his kindergarten class had already manifested their quirks, she told him not to worry; that he was most likely a late bloomer. His quirk would manifest soon, she had assured him countless times, but it never settled his nerves. The other kids would point at him and whisper none too quietly that he was the boy who still didn't have a quirk.

"How unfortunate," he had heard one of his classmates' fathers say when he had passed them at the front of the school. Izuku ran home and locked himself in his room that day. He wouldn't come out even when Katsuki had come over. Izuku sighed as he changed into his uniform and reached for the bright yellow hat that hung from the headrest. He hated wearing it because he thought that the bright yellow made him stand out despite the fact that every other kindergartener had to wear one as well. He quietly made his way out of his room and down towards the dining room.

"I wouldn't worry, dear. He'll most likely manifest his quirk in the next couple of months," he heard his father's words from the dining room. He stopped dead in his tracks right outside the door. His tiny heart pounding as fast as it had been when he thought Katsuki was going to die from falling off the free.

"I know, dear. I'm just anxious for what the doctor will say," his mother sighed as she wrung the kitchen towel in her hands.

"I'm sure the doctor will just say that he's fine. That he'll have a quirk," to Izuku it seemed that his father was trying to convince himself as well. He grits his teeth as he entered the kitchen.

"Oh, Izuku, we have scrambled eggs and toast-"

"I'm not really hungry. Can I just have toast and a glass of juice, please," he felt bad for cutting his mother off. He hung his head down as he climbed up the seat.

"Of course you may," she replied almost too sweetly. Inko had known how disturbed her son had been that he wasn't manifesting his quirk. He would spend hours watching online videos of All Might.

"So, Izuku, what have you been doing in kinder," his father said placing the newspaper he had been reading down on the table next to his half eaten food.

"We're reading about All Might and quirks," he responded emptily.

"Oh. What about Katsuki? You haven't talked about him in a while," his father tried to lighten the mood. Inko placed a plate of toast and glass filled with orange juice in front of Izuku and sat down to eat her breakfast.

"He plays with the other kids that have quirks a lot more now," he furrowed his brows, "but he's still my best friend. He always helps me out." Izuku didn't reveal with what it was that Katsuki helped him with. He didn't want his parents to know that some of the older kids would pick on him because he was still quirkless. They were all afraid of Katsuki, so they left him alone for the most part after Katsuki had blown up quite literally at them.

"That's good," his father looked at his mother, "later you have an appointment with your doctor so your mother will be picking you up from school today." Izuku nodded and quickly finished the rest of the toast before excusing himself to walk to school. He liked the quiet a lot more these days as there sure wasn't anyone whispering behind his back as he walked or a worried mother constantly telling him that everything would be fine when she was just as unsure as he was. The day passed by in a blur for him. Surprisingly, Katsuki stayed with him all throughout the school day, which helped at keeping the other children away. Before leaving with his mother at the end of the day Katsuki reached out to him.

"…Izuku…Never mind. I'll see you tomorrow." His friend ran off without looking back. He looked awfully conflicted, Izuku thought, but shrugged it off. His mother was waving him over.

"Do you want to grab a bite to eat," she asked as he climbed into the car. He shrugged. He wasn't hungry; he hadn't been hungry the whole day. Izuku just wanted to know what the doctor would tell him. Surely, he's just going to tell them that they had nothing to worry about. That Izuku could still become a professional Hero like he had always planned. Absolutely nothing to worry about.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Midoriya. Your son will likely never manifest a quirk." The doctor grimly looked straight at his mother. The man couldn't bring himself to look at Izuku. "There have been instances where the child, born of two parents that have quirks, doesn't develop a quirk. Unfortunately, this is one of those cases." Izuku broke. He sat there while his mother and the doctor further discussed the subject even though there was nothing to discuss.

"Mom is I true that I will never be able to become a hero," Izuku asked after having watched his first every clip of All Might dozens of times that evening after they had gotten back from the doctor's office. He sat staring at the paused screen showing his favorite hero smiling right back at him.

"I'm so sorry, Izuku," his mother sobbed as she hugged him. He would never develop a quirk. He would never be able to defeat any villains alongside Katsuki. Izuku Midoriya would never become a hero like All Might.

Izuku Modoriya would later be involved in a car accident, and as the world continued to move around, he laid still on a hospital bed.


	2. Our Second Promise

**Promises**

Our Second Promise

'' ''

"Liar. I hate you." The blond boy, who was a bit tall for his age, didn't glance back as he ran out the room.

"Katsuki!" His mom, Mrs. Bakugou, called after him horrified. She turned bed towards the grieving woman at the bedside, "I am so sorry. I'll be back, I promise." The other woman with red rimmed eyes nodded and managed a small weak smile.

"Don't worry. Go find Katsuki. I'll... Stay here," her voice broke as she uttered those last few words. Mrs. Midoriya clutched the bandaged hand in front of her. It pained Mrs. Bakugou to leave her friend to suffer alone, but she couldn't sense her own son anymore. He had run too far away from her reach. She squeezed Mrs. Midoriya's shoulder before letting herself out of the room, closing the door behind her quietly. Mrs. Bakugou sighed. This was taxing on all of them. What could that sweet young boy do to deserve something like that? On the way out of the hospital she bumped into Mr. Midoriya.

"Hello, Hisashi, how are you holding up?" She tried checking up on him, knowing that Inko wouldn't survive if she lost both her son and husband. She tried reaching out to him, but he shied away from any sorted comfort.

"Poorly. Thank you for asking. I saw Katsuki running towards the park if you were going after him." The man walked swiftly past her into the sterile interior of the hospital. As the days had gone by, the man had withdrawn further away from everyone who wasn't his wife and son.

He felt extremely bad for his wife, however. While he had to go to work - no, he had chosen to go back to work so soon when his employer had offered him some time off - his wife was always by their son's bedside. Hisashi only came in after work was done. He didn't look forward as he usually would when walking. For the past few days he looked down at his feet when walking or at his hands when sitting down feeling completely helpless. He took a deep breath as he clutched the door handle before opening the door to the constant nightmare looming over him. His wife looked up at him through tired, red rimmed eyes. She was still clutching their son's hand. "Have the doctors said anything?"

She nodded, but she completely forgot the speech she had repeated over and over in her head this morning after the doctors came in to deliver the grim news. Instead she sobbed into her husband's embrace all the while holding onto her small son. Outside it started raining again.

"Katsuki! Where are you?" The blond boy saw his mother pass by for the third time that evening. No matter how wet he was from the rain, he refused to climb down the tree and reveal himself. He wiped his face with his damp sleeve, but the water just kept on running down. It tasted salty when he opened his mouth in an attempt to scream, to talk, to let his emotions out, but no sound came out, and the pitter patter of the rain on the leaves above continued. He looked up past the branches and leaves above, but he couldn't see the sun or the blue sky he had always seen when he came to the park with Izuku. He wondered if he'd ever see it again. Then he scowled when he saw his friend's smiling face.

"Katsuki! You and me are going to fight as heroes side by side when we grow up! Just you wait until I get my quirk!" That had only been four days ago as they walked home together. Katsuki had rolled his eyes then, but inside he couldn't wait for Izuku to get his quirk. He decided that he would be as happy for Izuku as Izuku had been for him a couple of months back when he had first shown his quirk.

 _Liar_ , he thought again. "How can we become superheroes together if you're in the hospital," he muttered hugging his knees close to him.

"There you are! Katsuki, get down here this instant!" He looked down from his branch and saw his mother standing there; hands at her hips and clothes completely soaked.

"No..." He spoke too softly into his knees.

"Katsuki!" She could see his curled up frame. Shivering from the cold, but refusing to come down.

"NO!" This time he raised his head so she could see his face. His eyes narrowed as he glared down.

"I know you're scared and worried about Izuku, but if you don't-"

"I hate him! He lies!" He stood up on the branch making his mother uneasy.

"Katsuki! Just come down, and we can talk. You'll get sick if you stay up there!" She stepped closer to the base of the tree reaching up. He just stood there for a bit before he gave in. Just like the day he had gotten his quirk, his foot slipped, but unlike that day he made no effort to use his quirk. He saw the cloud covered sky through the patches of leaves as fell.

"Don't you dare climb another tree again," his mother whispered as she cradled him in her arms. Oh, she caught me, Katsuki thought. The warmth of his mother lulled him into sleep.

"Katsuki, so you almost fell down again," the small boy in front of him smiled, shaking his bushy haired head, "and from the same tree too!" He sat across him crossed legged and hands folded in front of him. He was wearing his usual toothy smile that had become so rare the past couple of days. Sure, he had smiled when he reminded them of their future plans, but his smiles, though genuine, hadn't reached his eyes. Katsuki felt his lower lip quiver as he stood a couple feet in front of the sitting boy. His vision blurred. The dark haired boy tilted his head and looked at his friend. "Katsuki are you alright? Katsuki?" Said boy ran and tackled his friend to the ground; hugging him tightly.

"Izuku, you idiot! You can't just leave me like that," Katsuki said rolling off of the smaller boy and sitting down. Izuku chose to remain lying down with his palms under his head as if he was gazing up at the clouds or a starry sky despite their surroundings being completely white.

"I guess it has been a couple of days since we last talked," he said slowly, "what happened?"

"What do you mean what happened?" Katsuki glared at his friend.

"Why'd we stop talking? I can't remember." All the while he continued to stare up.

"...you mean you really can't remember?" Izuku shook his head, but he didn't face Katsuki or say anything. "...you... Mom said a car hit you on your way home from school. A day after..."

"Ah, really? I mean I'm here now and feel completely fine… Then how are you holding up?" He finally faced his friend.

Katsuki had to look away as he mumbled his response. "I- I hate you. You lied to me. You said we'd be heroes together when we grew up until the end."

"I'm sorry, Katsuki," Izuku sadly smiled; his friend could be so fragile sometimes, "I broke our promise. The doctors said I don't have a quirk anyways." Katsu Ki's eyes widened and he cowered into himself remembering the last conversation he had had with Izuku.

"I don't want to see you! All you do is boast about your own quirk!" Izuku had yelled from inside his room where he had holed himself up in again. "You don't understand anything, Katsuki! Go away! I never want to talk to you again!" They had already been arguing since Izuku's mom had gone to get the groceries ten minutes ago.

"Fine then. I'll leave. I didn't want to talk to you anyway! I mean who would want to be friends with a quirk less person!" Katsuki had stomped out of the house feeling guilty.

"Sorry..." Izuku glanced at him questioningly "for what I said a couple of days ago."

"It's fine. I said some pretty nasty things too," Izuku smiled back. Silence engulfed them as Katsuki didn't know what to say.

"I'm probably not waking up again," Izuku finally admitted.

"Don't say that! It'll only make me hate you," Katsuki glared at him now.

"Hehe, I thought you already did," Izuku giggled. His friend blushed.

"I didn't mean it."

"I know," Izuku said sitting up, "but I do mean what I said. I might not wake up Katsuki. You have to realize that." The boys were now facing each other.

"Don't wanna."

"I didn't want to get hit by a car, but I did." Katsuki was silent as Izuku continued. "You should still become a hero. I mean your quirk is totally awesome!" Katsuki shrugged.

"We're supposed to do that together, remember?"

"That's no reason to waste your quirk!" Izuku flicked his forehead, "how about this? You become a hero and I'll provide back up." Izuku grinned as he continued, "Remember that. It's our new promise. Oh, I have to go now."

"No! Wait!" Katsuki reached out to stop his friend. "Will I talk to you again...ever?" Izuku grasped his hand in his.

"Of course, I mean I have to provide back up for the world's future number one hero, so I'll always be there for support." Katsuki nodded though his stomach churned. He felt he was missing something. "Good bye, Katsuki." Izuku gave him one last smile before turning and walking away.

"Bye, Izuku!" Katsuki yelled after his friend. He rubbed the tears away to be able to see Izuku's retreating figure, but when he opened his eyes again he was alone. He felt drowsy again and he felt like he was falling. As he fell unconscious he heard Izuku say I'll always be your back up, Kat-chan.

When Katsuki woke up he was in bed with a cooling pack on his forehead. His mother was sleeping sitting in the chair on the other side of his room. He looked out of his window into the starry sky, and felt something was missing. The following day, his mother broke the news to him. Izuku wouldn't be waking up again. In the following days he had discovered, mostly through eavesdropping on the adult's discussions, that Izuku would have probably never woken up even if he hadn't taken a turn for the worse that night. There was nothing anyone could have done for the poor boy.

Katsuki continued to visit the tree whenever he felt the need to. He climbed up to the highest pint of the tree and watched the sky. Though he didn't have his best friend yelling at him from the bottom of the tree, he knew what he had to do.

"I'll provide back up." _I know you will, Izuku_. He jumped from the top of the tree instead of falling. Katsuki strolled down park. It had been fourteen years, but Katsuki had fulfilled their final promise.

* * *

 **So what did you guys think? Certainly a different approach to Izuku not having a quirk, and a different take on the two character's relationship. I may continue this story in the future, but as of now I think I'll leave it at this. Thank you for reading, and please share your thoughts on it!**


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